Description:
Capercaillie must be considered one of Britain's premier folk rock bands, and Choice Language finds them resurrecting another set of antique Gaelic songs--they remain zealous in their protection of this particular endangered species. But even before 1997's Beautiful Wasteland (and years before Damon Albarn), they had begun to embrace the rhythms and moods of African music, and the precise but soulful trip-hop of the likes of Portishead, using them to contemporise and enliven the more traditional compositions they'd written or re-discovered. This process continues here, as they rework a series of Hebridean work songs, ballads and
Capercaillie must be considered one of Britain's premier folk rock bands, and Choice Language finds them resurrecting another set of antique Gaelic songs--they remain zealous in their protection of this particular endangered species. But even before 1997's Beautiful Wasteland (and years before Damon Albarn), they had begun to embrace the rhythms and moods of African music, and the precise but soulful trip-hop of the likes of Portishead, using them to contemporise and enliven the more traditional compositions they'd written or re-discovered. This process continues here, as they rework a series of Hebridean work songs, ballads and raucous reels, combining neat beats with flutes, fiddles and accordions, sometimes to stirring effect. As ever, their greatest strength is Karen Matheson's voice, a miracle of clarity, and it's when she takes centre stage, as with the opening work song "Mile Marbhaisg", the mouth music of "Air Fair An La", and "Nuair A Chi Thu Caileag Bhoideach", where she mournfully warns of impetuous young love, that Capercaillie really shine. Elsewhere we have midnight jazz and several increasingly hypnotic reels, but you end up wishing they'd spend less time on modernisation and more on writing epic super-dramas to bring out the best in Matheson. In this they're in good company; Clannad made similar mistakes. --Dominic Wills
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Manufacturer: Vertical
Release date: 5 May 2003
Number of discs: 1
EAN: 5050361500621
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